Experts Warn About New Social Media Trend Called Sunburn Art

PITTSBURGH (KDKA/CBS) – A new social media trend is taking over Instagram but experts warn it could be very dangerous.

The hashtag #SunburnArt has quickly been making its way across social media platforms the past few weeks.

It’s done by creating designs by exposing certain parts of your body to the sun without protection.

Designs have been all over social media accounts including a batman symbol, flowers, and names.

“While it may be entertaining, it is intentionally exposing your skin to harmful ultraviolet radiation,” Dr. Thomas Rohrer, a dermatologist based in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, told CBS News.

The Skin Cancer Foundation released a statement denouncing sunburn art.

“The Skin Cancer Foundation strongly advises the public to avoid sunburns at all costs,” the group’s senior vice president, Dr. Deborah S. Sarnoff, wrote. “A sunburn is not only painful – it’s dangerous, and comes with consequences. Sunburns cause DNA damage to the skin, accelerate skin aging, and increase your lifetime skin cancer risk. In fact, sustaining five or more sunburns in youth increases lifetime melanoma risk by 80 percent. On average, a person’s risk for melanoma doubles if he or she has had more than five sunburns.”